The idea of “tethering” a phone to your computer is nothing new. However, as data plans become cheaper and more inclusive, the appeal of tethering is far greater than ever before. The basic idea involves connecting your iPhone to your Mac or PC – either over Bluetooth, or using a cable – to provide access to the web on your computer over 3G.

There are numerous solutions to achieve this, and we’ll be looking at a few different options today. Some of them depend heavily on the country you’re based in. Tethering isn’t officially supported in the US on AT&T yet, but rumours suggest that it’s coming in the next month or two.

Read on to find out how tethering works, and how you can start sharing that data connection with your computer!